Transformational leadership and optimal functioning at work: On the mediating role of employees' perceived job characteristics and motivation

This study aimed to deepen our understanding of the motivational mechanisms involved in the relationship between transformational leadership (TFL) and employee functioning. Drawing on the TFL literature, the job demands–resources model and self-determination theory, we propose an integrative model that relates TFL to employee psychological health (burnout and psychological distress), attitudes (occupational commitment and turnover intention) and performance (professional efficacy, self-reported individual and objective organizational performance) through two explanatory mechanisms: perceived job characteristics (job demands and resources) and employee motivation (autonomous and controlled). This research was conducted in two occupational settings (nurses and school principals), using a distinct variable operationalization for each. Results of both studies provide support for the hypothesized model, suggesting that TFL relates to optimal job functioning (psychological health, job attitudes and performance) by contributing to favourable perceptions of job characteristics (more resources and less demands) and high-quality work motivation (more autonomous motivation and less controlled motivation) in employees. Theoretical contributions and managerial implications as well as directions for future research are presented.     

Does job complexity mitigate the negative effect of emotion-rule dissonance on employee burnout?

In interactions with clients or patients, human service workers are at risk of experiencing discrepancies between felt and organizationally mandated emotions (i.e. emotion-rule dissonance). Given the documented detrimental effects of such discrepancies on employee strain, the present study investigated whether job complexity mitigates the relation between emotion-rule dissonance and employee burnout using data from a two-wave panel study of eldercare workers (N?=?583, 16-month time lag). Structural equation modelling revealed that emotion-rule dissonance at Time 1 preceded emotional exhaustion and depersonalization at Time 2. Beyond that, employees whose work offered job complexity were found to suffer less from emotional exhaustion and depersonalization when encountering discrepancies between felt and stipulated emotions compared to employees who conducted noncomplex work. Thus, designing complex tasks appears to be a crucial starting point for alleviating employee burnout in jobs that provoke emotion-rule dissonance.     

Nurse safety: How is safety climate related to affect and attitude?

Occupational accidents and injuries continue to be a critical concern for nurses, given the hazardous healthcare environment. This study advances the research on workplace safety by studying the process variables (i.e. job-related negative affect (JRNA) and job satisfaction) in explaining the relationship between safety climate and various safety criteria in nurses. Based on survey data from 326 nurses, our findings suggest that psychological safety climate is negatively related to JRNA, turnover intentions, safety workarounds, and workplace hazards. In addition, structural equation modelling indicated general support for a model in which psychological safety climate influences employee strain through job attitudes, including JRNA and job satisfaction. More specifically, job attitudes were found to mediate the relationship between psychological safety climate and turnover intentions, experience of hazards, and injuries. Safety workarounds did not significantly relate to injuries. The present study contributes to the ongoing improvement of interventions aimed at mitigating nurses’ injuries by integrating job attitudes into the safety climate–safety outcome framework.     

Comparing search and estimation performances of designs based on a compound criterion

Since the introduction of the search design by Srivastava [Designs for searching non-negligible effects. In: Srivastava, editor. A survey of statistical design and linear models. Amsterdam: North-Holland, Elsevier; 1975. p. 507–519], construction of such designs has been considered by many researchers. The efficient performances of constructed search designs in terms of parameter estimation and search ability of parameters have also been investigated by several authors. They have proposed suitable optimality measures such as DD- and AD-optimality for estimation in the early stage of search design construction. Moreover, since 1990s, some criteria have been developed to evaluate search performance of a design. Although these criteria are useful none of them is able to evaluate both estimation and search efficiency of a design simultaneously. In this paper, we propose dual-task criteria to deal with searching and estimating performances of search designs. These compound criteria are weighted multiplication of estimation and search suitable criteria. They will be used for design comparison and the results will be presented.     

学习江总书记"七一"重要讲话创造性地做好新时期宣传思想工作

江泽民同志在庆祝中国共产党成立80周年大会上的讲话,内涵丰富,博大精深."三个代表"重要思想,进一步丰富了新时期宣传思想工作的内容,为创造性地做好新时期宣传思想工作提出了新的更高的要求.     

支持多关键字的P2P搜索研究

传统的P2P系统是基于单特征词搜索的，且不支持语义，存在一定的局限性。提出了可变长数组模型，解决了P2P系统中多特征词搜索的问题；标识符空间的分割，使相同领域的文档在邻近的节点聚集，提高了搜索速度；本体技术的应用，使P2P系统能够理解搜索请求，有利于查全率的提高。     

Using adaptive weighted least squares to reduce the lengths of confidence intervals

The author proposes an adaptive method which produces confidence intervals that are often narrower than those obtained by the traditional procedures. The proposed methods use both a weighted least squares approach to reduce the length of the confidence interval and a permutation technique to insure that its coverage probability is near the nominal level. The author reports simulations comparing the adaptive intervals to the traditional ones for the difference between two population means, for the slope in a simple linear regression, and for the slope in a multiple linear regression having two correlated exogenous variables. He is led to recommend adaptive intervals for sample sizes superior to 40 when the error distribution is not known to be Gaussian.     

Bored employees misbehaving: The relationship between boredom and counterproductive work behaviour

In this study, the relationships among boredom proneness, job boredom, and counterproductive work behaviour (CWB) were examined. Boredom proneness consists of several factors, which include external stimulation and internal stimulation. Given the strong relationships between both the external stimulation factor of boredom proneness (BP-ext) and anger as well as the strong relationship between trait anger and CWB, we hypothesized that examining BP-ext would help us to better understand why employees commit CWB. Five types of CWB have previously been described: abuse against others, production deviance, sabotage, withdrawal and theft. To those we added a sixth, horseplay. Using responses received from 211 participants who were recruited by email from throughout North America (112 of them matched with co-workers), we found support for our central premise. Indeed, both BP-ext and job boredom showed significant relationships with various types of CWB. The boredom proneness factor also moderated the relationship between job boredom and some types of CWB, suggesting that a better understanding of boredom is imperative for designing interventions to prevent CWB.     

高校辅导员工作导入学校社会工作理念初探

随着招生规模迅速膨胀,学生生活社区化、成长环境社会化以及弹性学制等情况的出现,高校辅导员工作面临着新的挑战,在其中导入学校社会工作理念和方法,使二者在价值观、工作原理和工作方法等方面互补,除了能够帮助学生获得正确的价值观、知识和能力外,还可以有效整合各方面的资源,发挥大学生主体作用,取长补短,构建更有效的育人平台,探索出新时期高校学生工作的新路径。     

对大学毕业生就业失信行为的审视

失信在当今社会、经济生活中已成为较为突出的矛盾和问题 ,就连大学毕业生在求职过程中也表现出失信行为。如“注水简历”、“伪造证书”、“随意违约”等 ,过早地闪现了诚信危机的寒光 ,现状堪忧 ,这不能不引起全社会的关注。其原因主要有就业形势严峻 ;社会失信行为的负面影响 ;社会、学校、家庭诚信教育体系的缺失等。大学毕业生在求职过程中惟有自身进行反省 ;学校建立起良好的诚信育人环境 ;主管部门加快健全信用机制 ;用人单位调整好选才标准 ;媒体舆论等社会力量共同营造诚信的良好氛围 ,才能实现诚信就业。